Johanna's+Meditation+EQ+2

=**Essential Question #2**= =**How can we bridge the gap between home and school literacies?**=

It has been established that our students' home environment affects their learning, but how can we use their home environments in their favor? How can we bridge the gap between home and school literacies? As adults we understand that different situations require us to speak differently, but our students need to be taught what is appropriate in different situations.

In the survey I took earlier during this semester, I stated that I do not judge a person by the way they speak, but that does not mean we are not judged by the way we speak. It is extremely important for our students to work on articulating their thoughts. They can not just deliver the message, but deliver it in a manner that will not take away from their credibility. As educators, we must take a serious step towards developing our students dialogue and writing in order to ensure they are not looked down upon by the outside world. How do we encourage students to use "academic language" when speaking? How can we raise student awareness about when slang is appropriate? How can we help our students realize the importance of using proper English when speaking?

Educators have the power to help students achieve success with school literacies. The first step towards accomplishing this is understanding how important it is to include a students' diverse background in our lesson planning. After completing my Linguistic Dimensions study, I discovered that including what we know about our students in our daily lessons can only benefit their learning. You gain their attention instantly and students learn grammar without realizing they are learning it. The way they speak at home and what they see as important needs to be included in their school work, because their culture is a huge part of our students' identity. In order to motivate them to learn we must hone in on those areas and use them to our advantage.

In order to use our students home life and culture we have to do some ground work. We may need to explore their neighborhoods, conduct a survey, listen to them at recess, or even have a talk with some students. Teachers need to stay current with what students are interested in and what kind of backgrounds they come from. Once we gather this information it will be easier for us to utilize it to create lesson plans that will engage our students. We can create lessons that are relatable and once students are engaged it will be easier for us to teach them important literacies.

Bridging the gap between home and school literacies requires us to use our students culture and daily lives in our lessons. We need to spike their interests and lure them into learning in order to help them achieve success in school.

** Artifacts: **

 * Survey taken the first day in class:**




 * Linguistic Dimensions Study**
 * Phase 1-4:**










 * Student activity on thinking about language (Module 3):**




 * Issues teachers may face (Module 3):**